Saagar- The High Tide That Refuses To Ebb

“For East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet…”- wrote Rudyard Kipling in his Ballad of the East and West-maybe because he never got a chance to listen to Fuzon’s  Saagar- the perfect example of the east and west reaching out, and embracing each other .A perfect blend of two styles, the coming together of two very different musical traditions, to create something so unique and magical that it satiated music lovers in a way like never before

“Still listening to this in 2012”- reads a YouTube comment on the song Aankhon ke Sagar from this album; and it was this comment that inspired this post. In this day and age pop albums in the subcontinent are hardly getting produced, and even if they are, they have a very short shelf life and are easily forgotten, for they have to compete with a monster of a song factory called Bollywood.

What is it then that makes Saagar sound so fresh, so endearing till date, a decade after its release? An intriguing question, indeed, and I had to search the answer.

Beautiful compositions, for starters, which combine the delicate nuances of the Hindustani classical with the energy of western sounds and beats… Easy to remember, catchy lyrics, which talk of the universal themes of friendship, love, romance, separation, yearning, pain …

But above all a voice- the voice so pure that it connects its listeners to the emotions of the songs instantly. A voice so strong that it takes over your being and transports you to another world altogether. It feels more than it sings, and brings the music not just to your ears but straight to the heart.

The voice of Shafqat Amanat Ali!

Here I pick my top 5 favorites from the album that I just cannot get over.

1. Khamaj- The Heart Calls Out..

“Beautiful heart-rending song, it almost touches the soul with its bare hands”

- a YouTube comment

If I had to hear one last song before I died, this would be the one! The melancholy, the longing and a kind of resignation, too… For the world, it might be the lament of a lover, for me it is a call to the divine-the desperation of a soul to meet its maker, an appeal to end the long wait before the two reunite! Titled after the beautiful raga that it is based on, this song in my opinion is synonymous with perfection…

2. Aankhon ke Saagar- The Ultimate romance!

“I could elope with his voice” – A Shafqat fan, on twitter

This song is every woman’s dream come true-The impassioned urge of a lover in a voice that sounds like that- what more could one ask for? And lines like-Palkon ko aise, Palkon se chchoo le…Ke jab dil mile, toh manzil mile” are simply to die for!                                                                                                                                                                      

3. Madhbanti – Yearnings of the night!

Another raga based composition, which brings to life the mood of the night. As night falls, and the shadows lengthen, the pain of separation seems to increase manifold

Purwa Chalay Kuch Aisi/Khushbu Teri Ho Jaisie

Sham Dhallay Kuch Aise/Palkain Jhukaye Tu Jaise

The wind blows such/ like your fragrance floats around

The night falls/ as if you slowly lower your gaze

4. Malhaar- Singing in the Rains!

My favorite season, one of my favorite ragas and my favorite for life singer… when they got together, I became hooked forever. I think I’ll be playing this song every monsoon season that I live to see.

5. Akhiyan- The first flush of love

The feeling of falling in love is incomparable- and the excitement, the attraction, the energy that it creates is beautifully captured in this folksy, fast paced number. The passion, the power and the pace makes you want to tap your feet and dance to it even today!

It’s hard to sum up how I feel about this album- but a line borrowed from a music review of the album does some justice to my reaction to it- the first time that I heard it and every time that I hear it…

“Fuzon's vocalist Shafqat Amanat Ali Khan, one of Pakistan's most distinguished classical pop vocalists, is at his very best... a formidable achievement, every glorious second of it.”